This happened the day after North Korea stated that it does not take seriously the US decision to reduce the scale of military exercises with South Korea, which Washington apparently sought to use to renew diplomacy.
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The Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that the missiles were launched on Thursday around 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. Lithuanian time) from the region of North Korea’s capital. The military indicated that the missiles were launched towards the eastern waters of North Korea.
The military reported that South Korea has strengthened surveillance and is closely coordinating information about the launches with the US and Japan.
South Korea’s National Security Council held an extraordinary meeting to discuss these launches. After the meeting, the council issued a statement urging North Korea to stop ballistic missile launches, which are prohibited by United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.
Japan’s Prime Minister’s office earlier reported that it detected a suspected missile launch.
On Wednesday, the South Korean and US militaries announced that they are reducing the scale of their 11-day-long “Ulchi Freedom Shield” exercises.
US President Donald Trump earlier, just before they began on Monday, instructed the Pentagon to “substantially reduce” the scale of the exercises.
Trump justified this decision by citing, according to him, good relations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korea’s refusal to support him regarding the war in Iran.
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Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of the North Korean leader, said on Wednesday that these things are not even worth commenting on.
“The provocative, aggressive nature of the exercises will not change, even if their duration and scale have been reduced,” she said. “If the US thinks it can present its latest measure as a so-called sign of goodwill, it will not get the desired response.”
Kim Yo Jong also mentioned many other military exercises conducted by the US and South Korea and South Korea’s aim to acquire nuclear submarines.
However, she refrained from the fiery rhetoric typical of North Korea and stated that the personal relationship between her brother and Trump “is still excellent.” This would suggest that North Korea would like to wait for Trump to make greater concessions before returning to the negotiating table.
When asked by journalists on Wednesday whether he would meet with Kim Jong Un this year, Trump replied: “Yes, I will meet.”
He did not answer whether he exchanges letters with Kim Jong Un but said that he gets along well with him.
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